The Wianno Post Office

In 1884, the colony of Wianno gathered around the Cotocheset House hotel and made their wishes for a post office known. Their application was successful, and the Wianno Post Office came into being. The Wianno Post Office henceforth operated on a seasonal basis during the months of June, July, August, and September in the washroom of the Cotocheset House lobby.

However, after a fire during the summer of 1896, the Post Office was hastily moved to the kitchen of "Wayside" cottage where it remained for the season. After the refurbishment of the Cotocheset House the following summer in 1897, mail soon began to be opened and distributed from the lobby office, which would continue for many years.

In response to the growing population of Wianno in the following years, the Postal Inspector, Mr. Swift, suggested that there be a designated space for mail distribution and furthermore that the mail be handled "more carefully." The response to Swift's directive was the conversion of a little-used smoking room into a post office: with this came a more efficient handling of mail, the introduction of parcel post services, and the issuing of money orders.

By 1916, Cotocheset House had become the Wianno Club. Among the myriad changes that followed was the movement of the Wianno Post Office to a fixed location. In 1918, Mr. Tom Baxter — who occupied the Henry Day cottage — gave a small summer house just beyond Wayside for use as a permanent Post Office. With a few alterations, the cottage was fit for use.

The year 1949 saw a final change for the Wianno Post Office. A building at 50 Washington Avenue became the new home of the Wianno Post Office, where it remained until its decommissioning in 1971, when it was then moved to a location off Putman Road in Cotuit. The Wianno Post office now finds itself back in Osterville for the first time in over 50 years.

Mr. James A. Moran — who was appointed Post Master of the Wianno Post Office in 1949 — was beloved for many reasons, namely for his supply of New England Necco Wafers. During his tenure, Mr. Moran generously entertained local school children with his sweet treats and colorful stories.

As one of the few designated places where children could enter without shoes, the Post Office was a refuge for barefoot young ones on rainy summer days with nowhere else to go. To the sound of rain pattering on the Post Office roof, groups of children would gather around Mr. Moran, awaiting their next roll of Necco Wafers and a story to accompany it.

In January 2023, the old 1800s-era Wianno Post Office was lifted from its longtime home off Putman Road in Cotuit and trucked back to Osterville, where it was placed on a new foundation on the grounds of the Osterville Historical Museum — returning the building to the village it served for nearly a century.